SHANGHAI: Novak Djokovic had a relatively straightforward victory at the Shanghai Masters for a change as he beat unseeded Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the semifinals, where he will face No. 204-ranked qualifier Valentin Vacherot from Monaco. The 38-year-old Djokovic has struggled in the hot and humid conditions in Shanghai, vomiting during previous matches and needing medical attention when he slumped to the ground in exhaustion after being taken to a third set by Jaume Munar in the previous round. The only major blip against Bergs was being broken when he led 5-4 in the second set, before finally converting his third match point. &ldquo;I should have closed out the match at 5-4,&rdquo; Djokovic said. &quot;Very challenging conditions these days for all the players, and I was just trying to stay alive on the court. I&rsquo;m glad to overcome this hurdle.&rdquo; It was the first meeting between Djokovic and Bergs. &ldquo;Man, I&#39;ve got to stop idolizing you,&rdquo; Bergs said with a smile before the 26-year-old Belgian hugged Djokovic at the net. Vacherot stunned 10th-seeded Holger Rune 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 to become the second lowest-ranked semifinalist in Masters 1000 events in the past 35 years, according to the ATP. &ldquo;This is just unbelievable,&rdquo; Vacherot said in an on-court interview. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t come as a qualifier, I came as an alternate. I wasn&rsquo;t even sure I was going to play qualifying.&rdquo; Vacherot clinched the win when Rune netted a return of serve, then fell to his knees on the baseline with both hands to his face against the court surface. Rune had struggled with mobility because of leg cramps in the third set.

Tennis

Novak Djokovic advanced to the Shanghai Masters semifinal after defeating Zizou Bergs. He will face world No. 204 Valentin Vacherot, who shocked Holger Rune to become one of the lowest-ranked semifinalists in 35 years.

Djokovic reaches Shanghai semis, faces world no. 204 Vacherot in surprise matchup

WUHAN: Naomi Osaka dropped the first set before rallying to beat Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the WTA&#39;s 1,000-level Wuhan Open. Osaka was back in the central Chinese city for the first time since 2017 and, in the day&#39;s first match on center court, facing the player who produced a major upset to beat her at the 2021 US Open. Fernandez converted one of her two first-set breakpoint chances and served consistently. But Osaka stepped up pressure on the service returns in the second set, which featured five service breaks, and finished over the top of the 2021 US Open finalist. Emma Raducanu, who beat Fernandez to win the US Open title four years ago, was trailing Ann Li 6-1, 4-1 when she retired from their first-round match due to dizziness. In other early matches, Sofia Kenin edged Anastasia Zakharova 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 to set up a second-round meeting against No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova, who beat Emiliana Arango 6-1, 7-5. No. 2 Iga Swiatek was scheduled to make her Wuhan tournament debut in a second-round match against Marie Bouzkova in the night session. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 Coco Gauff were due to open Wednesday. No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, the runner-up at both the US Open and Wimbledon this year, withdrew from the Wuhan Open citing a left calf muscle injury after winning the China Open title.

Naomi Osaka rallied to beat Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the Wuhan Open, advancing to round two. Emma Raducanu retired ill, Sofia Kenin advanced, and top players Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Gauff await their openers.

Naomi Osaka rallies to beat Leylah Fernandez at Wuhan Open

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BEIJING: French Open winner Coco Gauff was forced to go the distance against Leylah Fernandez before closing out a tight three-setter 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 on Sunday to advance to the third round at the China Open. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The defending champion and a firm crowd favorite in Beijing overcame a second-set stumble and then struggled to serve out the match in the third, before breaking Fernandez in the 12th game of the deciding set to clinch it. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gauff will next face No. 16 Belinda Bencic or Australian Priscilla Hon in the WTA 1000-series tournament. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In earlier matches on Sunday, Eva Lys beat No. 10 Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, and American McCartney Kessler was leading Barbora Krejcikova 1-6, 7-5, 3-0 when the Czech player retired from the match. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The tournament is being held concurrently with an ATP 500 men&rsquo;s tournament. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A day after becoming the latest tennis star to make an apology to Chinese fans, Lorenzo Musetti had a less eventful straight-sets victory over tour veteran Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3 in a second-round match. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earlier, Learner Tien beat Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-2 to set up a meeting with ninth-ranked Musetti in the quarterfinals. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Third-ranked Alexander Zverev plays Corentin Moutet of France in a night match later Sunday.

Coco Gauff advanced to the China Open third round after defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 on Sunday, advancing to the third round after a three-set battle in Beijing.

Gauff battles past Leylah Fernandez to reach China Open third round

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MADRID: Rafael Nadal is warning about fake online videos of him offering financial advice, and the risks of artificial intelligence. The retired tennis great said on Tuesday he has never endorsed any of the online videos or their messages. &ldquo;I want to share this message of caution &mdash; something unusual for my social media, but necessary,&rdquo; he wrote on Linkedin. &ldquo;In recent days, together with my team, we have detected fake videos circulating on some platforms. These were generated with artificial intelligence, showing a figure that imitates my image and my voice. In those videos, I am falsely attributed with investment advice or proposals that in no case come from me.&rdquo; Nadal said it was &ldquo;misleading advertising, completely unrelated&quot; to him. He talked about society&#39;s challenge of learning to distinguish between what is real and what is manipulated, and of &ldquo;promoting an ethical and responsible use of technology.&rdquo; &ldquo;Innovation is always positive when it serves people, but we must remain aware of its risks and act with critical thinking,&rdquo; he said. &quot;Artificial intelligence is a tool with enormous potential, capable of bringing extraordinary progress in education, medicine, sports, and communication. However, it can also be misused, creating false content that generates confusion and may deceive many people.&rdquo;

Rafael Nadal warns against AI-generated fake videos falsely showing him giving investment advice, urging ethical technology use and public caution.

Nadal alerts about fake videos of him offering financial advice

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;World number one Aryna Sabalenka retained her U.S. Open title on Saturday, defeating American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in straight sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium to claim her fourth Grand Slam crown. This title marks Sabalenka&rsquo;s second straight title in New York, making her the first woman since Serena Williams to win back-to-back US Opens. The Belarusian-based champion entered the match after losses in the Australian and French Open finals earlier this year. &#39;Super proud of myself&#39;&ldquo;Going into this final, I decided for myself that I&rsquo;m going to control my emotions. I&rsquo;m not going to let them take control over me,&rdquo; she told Reuters after the win. She added, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m super proud right now of myself.&rdquo; Anisimova, playing in her second Slam final, admitted the home atmosphere helped her stay in the match. &ldquo;They were really backing me, and I think that was really helpful to try and stay in the match,&rdquo; she said in comments reported by AP. She added that the closed roof made serving difficult, saying, &ldquo;I could not see the ball when I was serving&hellip; that made my serving today very, very difficult.&rdquo; 100th Grand Slam winThe victory marked Sabalenka&rsquo;s 100th Grand Slam match win as she celebrated with champagne and a pat on her trainer&rsquo;s head. With the title in hand, Sabalenka reinforced her reputation as the &ldquo;queen of hardcourts,&rdquo; Reuters reported. &ldquo;All those tough lessons were worth it for this one,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m speechless right now.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Aryna Sabalenka defended her US Open crown by beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), becoming the first woman since Serena Williams to win back-to-back titles in New York and securing her fourth Grand Slam

Articles tagged with "Tennis"

Djokovic reaches Shanghai semis, faces world no. 204 Vacherot in surprise matchup

Naomi Osaka rallies to beat Leylah Fernandez at Wuhan Open

Gauff battles past Leylah Fernandez to reach China Open third round

Nadal alerts about fake videos of him offering financial advice

Sabalenka stands undefeated: retains US Open crown

Djokovic reaches Shanghai semis, faces world no. 204 Vacherot in surprise matchup